Theory / Resort 2014

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If Olivier Theyskens was going to do what he was aspiring to do with Theyskens’ Theory this season—that is, design a collection in which each piece was so completely essential to it and within a woman’s wardrobe, that excluding even one from the group would be impossible—then he would need to be rigorous, precise, and ready to edit. “I was inspired by the way that Theory is, always so engineered and crisp, and I wanted to bring that to the Theyskens’ customer,” the designer said during Monday’s preview. “I wanted the line to be neater. I wanted definition in the styles. And I killed a lot of colors because it’s really just about black, white, some blue, some jeans, and a print.”

Of course, the buyers will decide how the collection shows up in stores, but in this editor’s opinion, Theyskens did a remarkable job of keeping things tight, focused, and desirable, all of it. There was a little denim shift dress that zipped up the back and had a cool, ripped-to-shreds neckline; a sweatshirt made of a technical fabric embroidered with matching thread to give it tone-on-tone graphicness; printed pants, now a T.T. signature, came in a dry, superstretch fabric; a cool-girl, cut-a-sew bomber/blazer hybrid in flocked silk. “I like that things are minimal, but I’ve kept the little edgy thing that I do,” Theyskens explained.

Fabrics were innovative and notable. One, which felt like a puffed mesh and was very sporty, squishy, and soft, was applied to the sleeves on a tunic and also cut in a longer, white frock. “I’d used this fabric before, but I felt like I hadn’t done everything I could with it,” Theyskens explained. “I wanted to take it further, make new shapes. I love it because of its transparency, but it’s also really nice to wear because it’s airy.” Another dress is what he considers the quintessential cocktail mini made from a gorgeous printed silk jacquard. “Maybe this one is for a holiday party. I mean, I made it really short for a girl who likes to go out to parties, but it’s still sober on top,” he said. Always, that restraint.